Pushkin's poems are of great interest not only from the artistic, but also from the point of view of studying the evolution of his literary tastes. In particular, at one time the poet was very interested in Byron's work and wrote several works in imitation of the famous Englishman. Among them is the âBakhchisarai Fountainâ - a work dedicated, as the poet himself later admitted, to his lover, whose name to this day remains a mystery to his biographers.
History of the work
Some researchers note that Pushkin heard a romantic legend about the Crimean Khan in St. Petersburg. However, most likely, he recognized her during a visit to Bakhchisarai with the family of General Raevsky in the early fall of 1820. Moreover, neither the palace nor the fountain itself impressed him, as they were in extreme desolation.
Work on the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (the content is presented below) was begun in the spring of 1821, but the poet wrote the main part during 1822. In addition, it is known that the introduction was created in 1823, and Vyazemsky made the final decoration and preparation for printing.
Who became the prototypes of the heroes of the poem âBakhchisarai Fountainâ?
One of the main characters of this work is Khan Giray, more precisely, Kırym Gerai, ruler of the Crimea, who ruled from 1758 to 1764. It was with him that the âFountain of Tearsâ and many other structures appeared in the Bakhchisarai Palace . Among them, the mausoleum stood out especially, in which, according to legend, the last love of the khan, Dilyara-Bikech, who died at the hands of the poisoner, was buried. By the way, some researchers believed that it was in memory of this girl that a mournful marble monument was built that exuded drops of water. Thus, it is possible that the real heroine, who is dedicated to the poem "Bakhchisarai Fountain", a summary of which is given below, was not at all a Polish girl named Maria. Where did this legend about the princess come from? Perhaps it was invented in the family of Sofia Kiseleva, nee Pototskaya, with whom the poet was very friendly.
The Bakhchisarai Fountain, Pushkin. Summary of the first part
In his palace, the sad Khan Giray forgot about peace and pleasure. He is not interested in either war or the machinations of enemies. He goes to the female half, where his beautiful wives languish in longing for his caresses, and hears the song of slaves, which they sing to the glory of the Georgian Zarema, calling her the beauty of a harem. However, the masterâs favorite herself no longer smiles, since the khan has fallen out of love with her, and now young Mary reigns in his heart. This Polish girl has recently become an inhabitant of the harem of the Bakhchisaray Palace and cannot forget her fatherâs house and her position as the adorable daughter of the old father and an enviable bride for many noble nobles who were looking for her hands.
How did this daughter of the gentry become a slave of Khan Girey? Hordes of Tatars poured into Poland and ruined her father's house, and she herself became their prey and a precious gift to her sovereign. In captivity, the girl began to yearn, and her only joy now is prayers in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin, which is lit by an unquenchable lamp day and night. Mary is the only one who is allowed to keep the symbols of the Christian faith in her cell room in her khanâs palace, and even Giray himself does not dare to violate her peace and loneliness.
Scene of the meeting of Mary and Zarema
Further, the narrative is interrupted, and the action is transferred to that part of the palace where Mary's chambers are located.
The night has come. However, Zarema does not sleep, who sneaks into the room to the Polish woman and sees the image of the Virgin Mary. The Georgian woman recalls her distant homeland for a second, but then her gaze falls on the sleeping Mary. Zarema kneels in front of the Polish princess and prays to her to return the heart of Girey to her. Awakened Mary, asks the beloved wife of the khan what she needs from an unfortunate captive who only dreams of going to her heavenly father. Then Zarema tells her that she does not remember how she ended up in the Bakhchisarai Palace, but bondage did not become a burden to her, since Girey fell in love with her. However, the appearance of Mary destroyed her happiness, and if she did not return the heart of the khan to her, she would stop at nothing. Having finished her speech, the Georgian woman disappears, leaving Mary to mourn her bitter share and dream of death, which she thinks is preferable to the fate of the Khan's concubine.
The final
Some time has passed. Mary went to heaven, but Zarema was not able to return Girey. Moreover, on the same night when the princess left this sinful world, the Georgian was thrown into the depths of the sea. The khan himself indulged in the pleasures of the war in the hope of forgetting about the beautiful Polish, who did not reciprocate. But he does not succeed, and, returning to Bakhchisarai, Giray orders to erect a fountain in memory of the princess, which the maidens of Tauris, who recognized this sad story, called the âFountain of Tearsâ.
âBakhchisarai Fountainâ: analysis of the images of heroes
As already mentioned, one of the central characters of the poem is Khan Girey. Further, the author sins before history. After all, his hero is concerned about the âmachinations of Genoaâ, that is, he lived no later than 1475, and the famous fountain was built in the 1760s. However, literary scholars consider such a separation from historical realities to be quite logical and inherent in romanticism.
As in some of Byronâs poems, the âeastern heroâ has its own European antagonist. However, it turns out that Pushkin himself is Giray himself, who fell in love with the Christian Mary, deviated from his Eastern principles and habits. So, the passionate love of Zarema, which has become a Mohammedan in the harem, is no longer enough for him. In addition, he respects the feelings of the Polish princess, including religious ones.
As for female images, the eastern beauty Zarema, for whom the main thing in life is sensual love, Pushkin contrasts the immaculate Princess Mary. Of all three characters that are presented in the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (a brief summary gives only a faint idea of ââthe original), Zarema is the most interesting. Her image balances the âeastnessâ of Khan Girey and the âwestwardnessâ of the Polish woman, who dreams only of the kingdom of heaven. Following the Byron tradition, in the plot of the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" Pushkin (see the summary of this work above) leaves a lot of omissions. In particular, the reader is informed that Mary is dead, but how and why he can only guess.
Another, but inanimate hero of the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" is the marble monument itself, erected by Girey. In it, the tears shed by Mary in front of the icon of the Blessed Virgin and the abyss water, in which the unfortunate Zarema, merged into a single whole. Thus, the poem âThe Fountain of Bakhchisaraiâ (analysis of this work is still becoming the subject of discussion by literary scholars) became Pushkinâs second byronic poem and his tribute to romanticism.
Edition History
The poem âThe Fountain of Bakhchisaraiâ, a brief outline of which you already know, was first published on March 10, 1824 in St. Petersburg. Moreover, the author of her introduction was Vyazemsky, who wrote it in the form of a dialogue between âClassicâ and âPublisherâ. In addition, following the text of his poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (you already know the summary of this work), Pushkin ordered Vyazemsky to publish a story about the journey through Tauris by the writer I. M. Muravyov-Apostol. In it, the father of three famous Decembrists described his visit to the palace of Khan Giray and in passing mentioned a legend regarding his love for Maria Pototskaya.
Ballet "Bakhchisarai Fountain"
In 1934, the famous Soviet composer B. Astafyev had the idea to write music for choreodrama based on the work of A. S. Pushkin. The fact is that the poem âThe Fountain of Bakhchisaraiâ, the brief content of which is presented above, has long attracted attention as a fertile ground for creating a spectacular musical performance. Soon, in collaboration with librettist N. Volkov, director S. Radlov and choreographer R. Zakharov B. Astafyev, a ballet was created that has not left the stage of many theaters in Russia and the world for more than 80 years.
Now you know what the âBakhchisaray Fountainâ is - Pushkinâs poem, created by him in imitation of Byron during the southern exile.